Jamal Madar oo ka mida Siyaasiyiinta beesha Arab ee
ku nool dalka Ingiriiska ayaa Warbixin uu ku qoray English
laguna faafiyay Barta Google news wuxuu ciwaan uga dhigay
"Hargeisa: A Divided Capital
City"
Jamal wuxuu Maqaalkiisa ku sheegay in Xaafada ka tirsan
Hargeysa sida Galbeedka tahay degaan ka caagan madaxda
Maamulka Siilaanyo iyo Ciidamadiisa wuxuuna yiri
"Hargeysa Ma noqon doonto Magaalo Xadleh sidii
ay ahayd wixii ka horeeyay 28 November 2012. Dhinaca
Galbeed ee Hargeysa waxay noqotay meel aysan Tagi karin
xubnaha dowladda oo ay ciidamadu kamid yihiin""Hargeisa
is no longer a contiguous city as it used to be before
28 November 2012. The South West bank territory of Hargeisa
remains a no-go area for all government functionaries
including security forces"
Xaafadda Ahmed Dhagax ee beesha Arab degaan iyo Xaafada
New Hargeysa ee beesha Isxaaq Habar Yoonis waa dhul
ka caagan inay cagta dhigaan Ciidamadda iyo Madaxda
Maamulka Siilaanyo ,waxaa sidaas yiri Siyaasi ku sugan
Hargeysa.
Siyaasigu wuxuu sheegay in Maamulka Siilaanyo ku aruuray
Madaxtooyada oo beelahu is hubeeynayaan.
Somaliland waxay u muuqataa inay dib ugu laabatay Colaadii
laga heshiiyay ee beelaha dhexmartay sanadkii 1992 kaas
oo dhexmaray qabiilada wada dega.
Dowladda Ingiriiska oo ka niyad jabtay Maamulka Somaliland
ayaa Muwaadiniintooda kula talisay inay deg deg uga
baxaan Somaliland.
Dowladaha Mareykanka,Ingiriiska,Ireland ,Norway iyo
Kenya ayaa shaqaalahii ka joogay kala baxay Somaliland
taas oo xiisadahii ka jiray sii kordhiyay.Halkaan
ka akhri Warbixinta Jamal Madar
Hargeisa: A Divided Capital City
In Somaliland, we appear to have a government. It looks
like a government, often talks like a government, and
sometimes behaves like a government. But you can?t really
understand the modus operandi of Silanyo?s government
until you scratch beneath the surface and reveal that
it is not actually a government but a small clique of
utterly unscrupulous individuals pulling the strings
everywhere in Somaliland.
This clique would go extra ordinary lengths not only
to flout the laws of the land but also to wallow in
the blood of innocents, if it threatened their best
interests as in the case of the massacre that took place
at Ahmed Dhagah and further afield.
Hardly anyone would disagree that the recent local council
elections held in the country on 28 November 2012 split
the country right down the middle. The nation is now
more divided than ever before. And these divisions are
more broader and have far deeper roots than one might
think especially in the capital city, Hargeisa, where
there is brinkmanship between supporters of Haksoor
political association and the beleaguered government
of Ahmed Silanyo.
In Zeila, there is bad blood between the Vice President?s
clan and the indigenous ESSA people over the ?manipulated
results of the Somaliland local council election? which
led to ESSA not being able to win enough councilors
in order to propel one of their clan members into the
mayor?s office in the ancient town of Zeila. The Vice
President was accused to have directly interfered in
the electoral process to tip the scales in favour of
his clan. The Vice President did not deny this. As a
result, the ESSA categorically rejected the outcome
of the local elections. At least one person was killed
and dozen others were injured over the results of the
local election dispute. Attempts by the government to
reconcile the two sides ended with dismal failure, prompting
the minister of interior Mohamed Nur Arale to threaten
the ESSA by saying, ?We will not be at the mercy of
any party as far as the peace and security is concerned?.
The minister has been roundly criticized for stooping
to a level of such immaturity and contempt.
For their part, the Gadabursi accuse the government
of pandering to the demands of ESSA and trying to reverse
the outcome of an election it claims to be fair and
free.
The same ?cooked? election results led to the complete
rupture of relations between the government and Arab
supporters of HAKSOOR in Ahmed Dhagah district. The
Dhulbahante and Warsangeli are equally up in arms that
the majority of their electorate has been deliberately
disenfranchised, making it virtually impossible for
so many to exercise their fundamental rights to discharge
their civic duties. The blame for this loss of fundamental
rights has been placed squarely at the feet of the chairman
of National Electoral Commission, Essa Mohamed Jama
by non other than the president?s special advisor on
the eastern front, Fuad Aden Adde.
Needless to say, the government lost parts of its capital
city after it alienated Arab as a result of the fraudulent
election. Hargeisa is no longer a contiguous city as
it used to be before 28 November 2012. The South West
bank territory of Hargeisa remains a no-go area for
all government functionaries including security forces.
It remains outside the jurisdiction of the central government
following the massacre committed by Silanyo?s security
forces at Ahmed Dhagah district on 6th December 2012
in which three people lost their lives and scores of
others were injured- some of them seriously. The ages
of slain children ranged from 13-16.
It is precisely this state terrorism perpetrated by
Silanyo?s government against its own citizens that led
Ahmed Dhagah to become a renegade territory within the
capital city of Hargeisa- a stone?s throw away from
Silanyo?s seat of power.
Today, Ahmed Dhagah virtually remains a separate enclave
within Hargeisa. Tax collection is a thing of the past,
people buy plot of lands in droves and build their homes
without planning permissions and without the hassle
of much of the red tape and/or bribery that are usually
associated with such an endeavour. Police stations and
government offices are either empty or are manned by
familiar faces friendly with the roaming local boys.
It still remains off-limits for government officials.
Authorities either sneak in under the cover of darkness
or stay out of the area completely depending on how
pressing their needs are. Yet, surprisingly as it may
sound, there are no reported crimes or anarchy whatsoever
which is why so many people erroneously think that it
is business as usual for Hargeisa- almost two months
after the local election on 26 November 2012 when, in
fact, that is not the case.
So angry are Arab young men in Ahmed Dhagah that every
vehicle with identifiable government plate number that
passes through Ahmed Dhagah or its environs is either
impounded or are pelted with hail of stones if it fails
to stop.
A group of henna-dyed elders who went out of their way
to mend fences with the government was uncharacteristically
castigated by fiery young clerics who believe that the
elders had gone beyond the limits of the clan-family?s
tolerance.
Spewing out their hatred and anger in every direction,
Ahmed Dhagah women came out in force to have their daggers
drawn with the government on Tuesday, 1st January 2013.
Wearing red bands symbolizing the blood of the murdered
protesters in Ahmed Dhagah, the women expressed their
disgust at Silanyo?s government and its handling of
what everyone now agrees to be a ?plainly fraudulent
election? as put it by the leaders of the two of the
three parties that qualified for national party status.
The ruling party, KULMIYE, was the exception, of course.
As if the rest of the Somaliland people are not aware
of the brutal murders that took place in Ahmed Dhagah,
the women took no prisoners as they spoke uncontrollably
in front of rolling cameras, condemning the two houses
of parliament for their collusion and connivance with
the government.
As if that was not enough, the women and young men vowed
to commit themselves not to allow the ministry of sports
to hold the yearly Regional Football Tournament in Hargeisa?s
only Stadium which is situated in Ahmed Dhagah district.
Now, the tournament has been postponed to June because
the government could not guarantee the security of the
teams and spectators.
Sadly, what was once a warm relationship between Silanyo
and the people of Ahmed Dhagah has unnecessarily turned
into a deadly confrontation- a confrontation that seems
to be steadily escalating to the point where lasting
harm might be done to the country.
Certainly, the government is the guilty party here which
is why the government prefers to remain low profile
while its already tarnished reputation takes a merciless
beating in Ahmed Dhagah.
The government and National Election Commission (NEC)
collectively failed to answer until now why out of the
so many electoral districts in Marodi Jeh province the
ballot boxes from electoral district of Ahmed Dhagah
[the stronghold of HAKSOOR] went missing? No one would
explain or answer this question.
HAKSOOR?s formal ballot papers that have been correctly
marked by voters to show their preferred candidates
have been dumped and burned in the dry river bed of
Hargeisa. It was an obvious criminal offence and an
investigation should have been immediately launched
but the government reportedly advised the NEC officials
to ignore HAKSOOR?s complaint.
When supporters of HAKSOOR in Ahmed Dhagah began to
protest against these injustices the minister of interior
has deployed an-anti terrorist police unit to quell
the protest by using live ammunition against the peaceful
demonstrators. At least three people have been killed
including two teenagers aged 13 and 14. Scores of others
have been injured-some of them seriously. No one has
taken responsibility for these cold blooded murders
and no investigation have been launched whatsoever until
now.
HAKSOOR officials took formally their complaints to
the relevant chief justices of the district and provincial
courts of the country but the justices were clearly
instructed by the presidential palace not to entertain
any complaints from HAKSOOR.
Hersi Haji Ali, the minister of the presidency, who
is widely rumoured to govern the country, went to visit
Edna Aden?s Hospital on 16th December 2012. Soon he
found himself surrounded by nearly 300 menacing young
men wielding machetes, sticks and stones. For several
hours, he found himself barricaded in the Hospital only
to be bundled out of the back door stealthily by the
founder of the hospital and former foreign minister,
Edna Adan. The president?s motorcade was greeted with
the sole of shoes which are considered the ultimate
insult in Somali culture.
Until now, the clique that runs the government remains
in a dangerous state of denial. They acts as if nothing
has happened, refusing to acknowledge that these events
even took place while Haksoor supporters lodged a complaint
against president Silanyo in London for unlawful killing
of peaceful demonstrators- mostly school children.
This ostrich like behaviour is not a legitimate option
though and represents a gross dereliction of duty. We
can?t keep pretending everything is fine when it?s not.
The Somaliland nation is bitterly divided at the worst
possible time and a house divided against itself cannot
stand. The fact that the British government urged its
nationals, including the higher number of Britons with
a Somali background who visit relatives in Somaliland,
to leave the country immediately because of a ?specific
threat? to foreigners is a clear testament to the fact
that everything is not fine in Somaliland.
Jamal Madar
London, United Kingdom
adammadar@yahoo.com